SCRAPBOOK!!!

Here it is, hot off the presses!

JVC Mobile!

Countdown to scrapbook

Senior Year!

Check back tomorrow to see my finished product from my JV year. I am really excited about it.

Countdown to scrapbook

Junior Year!

Countdown to scrapbook

Sophomore Year!

Countdown to scrapook

I've been dedicating a good amount of my time during this week to working on my scrapbook of the past year. I decided I wanted to share the end result, of course, but also thought I could share some highlights of previous scrapbooks. We're just going to ignore the once I made in high school, because they are bad. So we're going to start with freshman year of college and work our way up to the grand unveiling!

Here is...

Freshman Year

For Justin

For Justin, my friend who is a founding assistant at L'Arche St. Louis: “The first duty of love is to listen.” -Paul Tillich

Read about Justin's awesome insights and experiences here!

For Sheila and Sarah

For Sheila: "It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." - Edmund Hillary

For Sarah Y: “Don’t try to hold God’s hand; let Him hold yours. Let Him do the holding, and you the trusting.” –Hammer William Webb-Peploe

For Kelly and Morgan

For Kelly: “May we who eat be bread for others. May we who drink pour out our love.” -Bernadette Farrell

For Morgan: “If you don't risk anything, you risk even more." -Erica Jong

For Sarah and Colleen

For Sarah, who used to be my roommate and who just graduated from SLU and got engaged: “I shall pass through this world but once. If therefore there can be any kindness I can show or any good thing I can do, let me do it now; let me not defer it or neglect it.” -Étienne de Grellet

For Colleen, my brilliant cousin who just graduated from high school: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."-Henry David Thoreau

For Kyle and Heather

For Kyle, my big bro: "A different world cannot be built by indifferent people." –Horace Mann

For Heather: “A joyful spirit is evidence of a grateful heart.” – Maya Angelou

Pottery

Today's craft comes with a history lesson:

Across Mobile Bay there used to be three kilns, built in the 1800s. They were located directly on the beach next to three natural cold springs, near the towns of Fairhope and Daphne. There was a conveyor belt from each kiln that ran directly to boats that would take the wares away to be sold. In 1960, a hurricane completely destroyed the kilns.
Today, along the beach where the kilns were located, pieces of pottery still collect along the shore shore. Our friend, Sean, was kind enough to show us the location of this treasure trove, and one night we made good use of headlamps as we collected a good number of pieces.
And so I bring you this:

The frame is from a local thrift store, and the colored stones are from the dollar store. The pottery is obviously the remnants of what was in the kilns when they were destroyed.

For Kate and Judy and Van

For Kate:
“I am seeking.
I am striving.
I am in it with all my heart.”
-Vincent van Gogh

For my aunt, Judy, and my uncle, Van: "Sometimes we speak out to try to change the world, and other times we speak to try to keep the world from changing us." –Shane Claiborne

Picture Frames

Michaels, the craft store near me, had plain wooden frames for a dollar, so naturally I bought a bunch. I really enjoyed decorating them, but I definitely had a hard time choosing pictures, since I have so many great photos. Anyway, here are the results (obviously the focus here is on the decoration of the frames, not on what is in them):

For Sarah and Doug and Connie

For Sarah, my balla cousin studying at Virginia Tech: "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." –Jimi Hendrix

For Doug, my coworker at L'Arche whom I love and respect and look up to constantly, and his wife Connie: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You." -St. Augustine

For Kathleen and Jen

For Kathleen: “When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” -Paulo Coelho

For Jen: “If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes.” –St. Clement of Alexandria

For Allison and my Grandparents

For Allison: "Begin your day with gratitude and your day will end with contentment." -Ellen Reid

For my mom's parents, who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary: “The secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for.” –Fyodor Dostoyevsky

For Nikki and Erin

Another two gifts for some great friends:

For Nikki: He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back. -Henri Matisse

For Erin: “God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.” - J. H. Lovett

For Briana and Dan

I've really enjoyed making these little decorative quotes, and it has been a great outlet for me, both to express myself and to relieve stress. So I keep doing it, since it makes me happy :)
Here are 2 more that I made for a couple friends:

For Briana:
"He prayed - it wasn't my religion.
He ate - it wasn't what I ate.
He spoke - it wasn't my language.
He dressed - it wasn't what I wore.
He took my hand - it wasn't the color of mine.
But when he laughed, it was how I laughed,
and when he cried, it was how I cried.
- Amy Maddox"

For Dan: "To walk alone is possible, but the good walker knows that the great trip is life and it requires companions. - Dom Helder Camara"

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To replace the Mardi Gras decoration I had made a few weeks ago:

Have a great day, and may all Irish blessings be upon you!

More Quotables

A couple more wall hangings that I made as gifts for friends:

For Mary: "I have found the paradox: if I love until it hurts, there is no more hurt -- just love." -Mother Theresa

For Liz: "When the bowl that was my heart broke, love poured out." -Beatrice Wood.